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Interview With Designer Sini Moilanen

Earlier this week, I had tea with the designer Sini Moilanen from Tramp In Disguise at ME London Hotel. We had an informal interview and chat about SS15 – Fallen Angel and the next collection. As well as having tea, I was also there for the live photo shoot to see more of the collection. It is Sini’s first time to have her collection to be shooted in an editorial way. Sini has produced two clothing lines – Tramp In Disguise and My Galavant. My Galavant is a diffusion line for more commercial uses and mainly for the younger generation. It was my pleasure to have this face to face interview with Sini during London Fashion Week.

I am currently livingclose to our studio in Brixton, London. I like to live close to work to make life easier.

How did you get into fashion/designing?

I was originally going to study biology back in Finland. However, I had always enjoyed the art side of myself, drawing and designing clothes. So I made the hard decision to follow my inner call at the start of 21st century and start the studies with a goal in fashion design industry. England is a good place to study fashion and one important reason for moving to England was my Finnish ex-boyfriend who was also moving to Brighton to study. I have done my BA in textile design at University of Brighton and my master’s degree in London at Royal College of Art specializing in knitwear .

Out of all the fashion cities, why did you choose London?

After ending the studies at Royal College of Art and starting my own brand Tramp In Disguise it was an easy and natural choice for me stay in London. It has the welcoming feel to all the new designers but of course there is a lot of competition here. You have to be something special to stand out. I also like London as a city, there is always something interesting to do.

What does fashion mean to you?

Fashion is something I can show my creativity and it is a way to express myself. Also, it is about everyday life. I myself also like to dress according to my current mood.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Every season my Tramp In Disguise collection has its own theme. For this season it was inspired by 30s and 40s Hollywood crime movie and cartoons and especially by notorious women in those movies. The prints are

My work is all about creativity. I enjoy immensely expressing myself with different prints and colours.

How would know which colour works well together?

I have a good eye for combining colours, the inspiration colours for this collection were from old movie posters and I selected my colour palette from them. I have chosen pale colour as based colour, so that the prints that were in brighter colour can pop and make a statement. It is actually my first time to have a black based colour, the black based pieces can be wearable for everyday life from day to night. Also, combining colourful prints to black base, it makes the whole pieces more subtle.

How would you describe this season’s collection?

Very 30s and 40s. I wanted to make the collection feminine, but at the same time still have the cool and edgy factors from the guns and crime scene. The garments are produced in a combination of both structured and draped designs in an array of luxurious fabrics such as silk organza, silk satin chiffon, silk jersey, silk and cotton mix satin. For my diffusion line – My Galavant, the prints and designs are completely different to Fallen Angel as I like have different themes for different line, so that buyers can see the differences. The design of My Galavant is very simple, but colourful.

What are we hoping to see for next season AW15?

I am still working on it, but it is going to be colourful for sure and the theme is going to be Slavic. That is all I am going to give away for next season.

How would you describe your style?

I like to wear my favourite pieces from each of the collection. I like bright colours and don’t necessarily follow the current trend, I like to stand out with my own style and buy clothes that I actually like and would wear every day.

Apart from designing, what do you enjoy the most?

In general, I like to listen to music, watch movies and meet new people.

Angel Leung is the fashion editor of Positive Magazine, writing anything from online designers to fashion weeks. Having a Sports Sciences and Nutrition degree, she loves to cook and exercise. Fitness, Food and Fashion are her passion. Having worked in online journalism over the years, she's picked up an unhealthy addictions for uploading her life on instagram (mainly what she eats and work out routines).